


We like history, but we have chemistry

by Barnababy



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dimivain Week (Fire Emblem), M/M, dimivain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barnababy/pseuds/Barnababy
Summary: Dimitri is a suffering history major, Sylvain is a cute and helpful grad student.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 96





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little late, but this is for Dimivain week.

Dimitri stared at the mountain of textbooks on his desk, which were stacked so high that they’d probably topple over with the slightest breeze. He leaned back into his chair as he drummed his fingers on his laptop. This was the fifth time he was starting his paper over, and he was terribly stuck. 

A knock at the door surprised him, and he jumped in his seat. His knee hit the edge of the table, and an avalanche of books followed. Normally Dimitri would be panicking and trying to catch them, but he just watched them fall. He turned to look at the door, and found a terrified Annette peeking into the room, her hands clutching the door against her like a shield. 

“Oh my god, I’m so so so sorry, you haven’t come out in ages and we thought you were dead or something but no one wanted to bother you and I tried to force Felix but he said no every time so I thought I should and-”

“Annette.” he interrupted. “What’s that smell?”

She stared at him in confusion for a few seconds, then perked up.

“Oh! I made muffins! Want some?”

-

“So,” Felix started, waving his half eaten muffin at Dimitri. “The old guy said your paper sucked every time?”

“Well, those weren’t the exact words he used, but that was basically it.” The blonde sighed, and took a bite out of his own muffin. 

They sat in the living room of their shared apartment, devouring Annette’s plate of muffins as Dimitri explained why he was holed up in his room the past month. Mercedes was out, so Annette was texting her all the details as the guys talked. 

Felix reached for his third muffin. “This is what you get for being a history major. What is there even to write about for a thesis? All the war stuff already happened.” 

“Felix, we are not having this discussion for the hundredth time. Yes, I may not have made the best decision when it comes to picking a useful major, but I enjoy it greatly. _Except_ for the part where I have no clue what to write about.”

Annette got up when she heard the kettle ding. “Well, why don’t you just ask professor Hanneman what to write about?” she hollered from the kitchen.

Dimitri groaned in response, and covered his face with his hands. “I think he’d kick me out of his office for saying that. Or he’d tell me to drop out.”

“Annie’s kinda right, Dimi. If you don’t say anything now, it’ll be too late. And then you’ll really be screwed.” Felix sternly told him, and crossed his arms. 

“I emailed him earlier. I told him I was stuck and needed inspiration.”

“But you left out the part where you have absolutely nothing written?” Felix asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dimitri gave him a meek smile in response. “Kind of?”

Before Felix could respond, Annette was back with a tray of 3 mismatching mugs filled with hot tea. 

“Did you check to see if he replied?” she asked as she set the tray on the coffee table.

“Oh, I have not, actually.”

He got up from the couch and walked back to his chaotic room. He fished his laptop out from under the pile of books and notes, and opened up his email. Indeed, there was an email from the professor. He carried the laptop with him as he returned to the living room, his eyes quickly skimming through the words on the screen. He stopped right behind where Felix was sitting, shock and confusion painted on his face. 

Felix tried to crane his neck back to see why Dimitri stopped. “Ugh you boar, what did he say?”

Annette peered at the laptop screen from behind Dimitri, and her mouth made an ‘o’ shape. “Hanneman wants him to work with one of his grad students, apparently.” she told Felix. 

Felix hummed. “At least you’re getting some help. You definitely need it.”

Dimitri let out a big sigh as he shut his laptop and tossed it onto the couch. He flopped down next to Felix, and Annette sat down on the other couch next to the abandoned laptop.

“Guys, can we _please_ play Mario Party.” he begged his friends. 

Felix got up without a word and grabbed the controllers. He handed one to Annette and the other to Dimitri. “Just don’t break this controller as well. You still need to replace the other one.”

-

Dimitri waited outside Hanneman’s office, his foot tapping nervously on the carpeted floor. He was supposed to meet that grad student today. If he was lucky, he’d be going home with a good idea for his thesis. At this point though, he’d be happy with _any_ idea to write about. He just wanted to get this whole semester over with. 

The office door clicked open, and the professor’s head poked out. “Ah, Dimitri! On time today again, as usual. Come in, come in.” He waved Dimitri in, and shut the door behind them. “We were just talking about you, actually. My student wanted to look over the thesis requirements so that he would know how to help you. He’s always so diligent.”

Surprised, Dimitri’s head whipped to the side, and he saw a young man sitting with his legs crossed in a chair opposite the professor’s desk. The grad student gave him a smile and a wave.

“Oh, I should introduce the two of you! Dimitri, this is Sylvain, one of my best students. I promise that you’ll be in very capable hands.”

Dimitri realized he was still staring, so he awkwardly stuck out his hand. “Greeting, Sylvain. Thank you very much for making time to help me.”

Sylvain let out a small laugh, and stood up to shake the blonde’s hand with a firm grip. “Don’t sweat it, I don’t mind at all. I’m always willing to help.” he replied with a wink. 

Hanneman clapped his hands loudly. “Wonderful! Now, I have a meeting very soon, so I’ll let you both get right to it!”

He shooed the students out of the office, and slammed his door shut. 

Dimitri nervously fumbled with the strap of his bag, unsure of what to say to the man he just met. He turned around when he heard Sylvain clear his throat.

“Um, I’m actually free right now. Want to head to a cafe and show me what you’ve been working on? I’ll pay, of course.”

“Sure!” he blurted out quickly. He was immediately flushed with embarrassment when he noticed how desperate he sounded, but he tried to cover it up with a cough. 

Sylvain didn’t say anything so as not to further embarrass the guy, but he looked away to hide his smile. 

-

“So let me get this straight,” Sylvain began as he put his coffee cup down. “You have nothing written? At all?”

Dimitri stared into his own cup, feeling slightly ashamed. “I really tried. I have five different drafts you can look at, if you’d like. None of them were good enough, however.”

Sylvain had his chin in one hand, and he closed his eyes to think. After a few seconds he looked back at Dimitri. “Okay. Show me what you got.”

“...Huh?”

“You heard me, let me see the drafts. Hit me.”

A little hesitant, Dimitri unzipped his bag and pulled out his laptop and notes. He thought Sylvain would be annoyed or criticize his work, but he was surprisingly patient. He even pulled out a notebook and wrote down the best points from the different papers. After a few hours and many cups of coffee, they managed to come up with a very simple outline for a paper. 

“Sylvain, this is amazing!” Dimitri exclaimed, eyes wide and sparkling as he looked over their work.

“Nah, it’s nothing.” Sylvain responded while he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s still bare-boned, so we’re going to have to do a lot more work. But it’s a good starting point.”

Dimitri shook his head. “I really couldn’t have done this without you. I cannot thank you enough for your help.”

“Well, if you wanna thank me, you could treat me to coffee next time?” Sylvain offered. 

“Yes, of course!” Dimitri agreed, nodding his head. 

Clearing his throat, Sylvain fished his phone out of his pocket. “So, since we’re gonna have to meet up again to work on this, can I get your number?”

“Definitely” Dimitri said, and reached his hand out for the phone. He put his number in, and handed the phone back to Sylvain. 

“Oh, wait! I forgot to put my name in.”

“No worries, I got it.” Sylvain assured him with a wink, but he didn’t show the blonde what he typed in. “I have to get going now, but I’ll text you. See you soon, Dimitri.” He got up to leave and gave a cute wave before walking out of the cafe. 

Dimitri started to pack up, but not even a minute after the grad student had left, a text popped up on his phone. Followed by two more. 

“😉”

“Let me know when you’re free”

“I’ll make time for our next meeting”

Dimitri smiled and sent Sylvain a copy of his schedule. 

-

“He asked for your number???”

“Of course, Felix. How else would we meet up?”

“Email. That’s what everyone does.”

“Well, perhaps texting is easier for him.”

Felix and Annette exchanged a knowing glance.

“Suuuure, if you say so.” Annette sing-songed. 

“Invite him here next time.” Felix said bluntly.

Dimitri almost choked on his tea in surprise. “Here?? What for?”

“What’s the matter? You’re going to be working together a lot, so why not.”

“It’ll be fun!” Annette insisted. “I’ll make cookies!”

“If you say so..” Dimitri sighed. “Just please. Don’t make a scene.”

Felix pointed at Dimitri’s phone. “Ask him. Now.”

Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone and typed out a message to Sylvain:

“Greetings Sylvain, I hope this message finds you well. When you are able, would you like to come to my apartment to work on the paper? It will be my way of repaying you for your kindness.

-Dimitri”

Felix looked over at the text. “If you’re going to write in email format you might as well have just sent him an email. When are you ever going to text like a normal person?”

“It’s fine Felix, at he’s trying.” Annette scolded him. She turned to Dimitri, “Don’t listen to him. Anyway, we’ll try not to be too annoying. Plus Mercie will be home so she’d kill us if we embarrass you too much.”

“Thank you, Annette. I do not want to inconvenience him any more than I already have. He has been a tremendous help.”

Felix stared at him. “You’ve been complimenting him an awful lot, and you barely know the guy. Is he cute?”

Dimitri sputtered in surprise. “Felix! Why would you ask that? He’s just helping me with my thesis!”

“Hmmm, so he is.” Felix said smugly. 

“Oh I can’t wait!” Annette squealed. 

-

Sylvain showed up that Friday after classes. Dimitri quickly ran over and opened the door. 

“Hey there, sorry I’m late. It’s pouring cats and dogs out there, and I forgot my umbrella.”

Sylvain pushed his damp hair back, and some of the droplets dripped down his neck. His eyelashes were wet, and his damp clothes stuck to his body. Dimitri immediately thought back to what Felix had said. He was right, Sylvain _was_ cute. 

He quickly let the older student into the apartment. 

“I’m so sorry for making you come here in the rain, and you must be so cold. Can I get you a change of clothes?”

“Oh, um, sure.” Sylvain replied, caught a little off-guard. Dimitri didn’t notice though, and he led him to his room, where he grabbed a shirt and sweatpants. He turned to Sylvain who was standing in the doorway. “Is something the matter, Sylvain?”

“Ah! I, uh, didn’t expect your room to be so messy, to be honest.” 

Dimitri nervously rubbed his neck. “It’s not usually like this, I promise. This thesis has just taken up all my time recently.” He handed Sylvain the folded clothes, and pointed out the bathroom. 

“Thanks, I’ll be right back. You can start setting up if you want.” 

As he was changing, Dimitri brought out his laptop and notes and placed them on the coffee table in the living room. The apartment was quiet, since the other three weren’t back from shopping yet. 

Sylvain returned a few minutes later, and was rubbing his head with a towel.

“Sorry, my hair was a mess. I grabbed the towel with your name on it, if that’s alright.” He said with a grin, clearly not sorry at all.

But Dimitri wasn’t upset, since he was too busy being distracted by the way his shirt was a little too big for Sylvain, and exposed his sharp collarbones. That word invaded his mind again: _cute_.

“It’s okay, it is my fault you got soaked in the first place.” he managed to blurt out. 

Sylvain walked over to the couch and plopped down. He immediately spotted the bowl of cookies on the table.

“Can I have one?” he asked Dimitri, his eyes practically begging. “I’m starving.”

“Of course, have as many as you like. One of my roommates made them for you, actually.”

They got to work fairly quickly. They weren’t there to hang out, after all. Sylvain didn’t sugarcoat any of his feedback, and immediately shot down any ideas that weren’t good enough. That helped them move forward a lot faster, and they got quite a lot of research done before the roommates returned. 

The sound of the key turning in the lock alerted the two students, and they looked at the door right as Annette, Mercedes and Felix entered, arms full of shopping bags stuffed with groceries. 

“Hello there.” Mercedes greeted them cheerfully. “Sorry for the disturbance, we’ll be gone once we put these away.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, we were just about to take a break anyway.” Sylvain responded as he stretched, reaching his arms above his head. The shirt lifted ever so slightly, revealing a sliver of his waist. Dimitri didn’t miss this, but his eyes quickly darted away. However, they landed on Felix, who was staring daggers at him. 

While Sylvain was busy complimenting Annette’s baking, Felix beckoned Dimitri over to the kitchen. 

“Really?” he hissed into the taller man’s ear. “He’s wearing your clothes?”

“Felix please, it was pouring out, and he arrived completely soaked. I couldn’t make him sit in wet clothes.”

“Likely story.” Felix replied with a glare. “I thought this was a study session, not a date.”

“You are the one who insisted I invite him!”

“Next time just take him straight to your room.”

“Boooys~” Mercedes intervened. “The guest is sitting all by himself back there. That isn’t very polite, Dimitri.”

“My apologies, Mercedes. I will go back, then. Felix, we can continue this another time.”

“Ugh, no need. Just tell us when you’re finally going out together.”

Dimitri pretended he didn’t hear him, and returned to Sylvain. 

“I hope I was not gone too long, Sylvain. It was rude of me.”

Sylvain waved him off. “Nah, I wasn’t _too_ lonely. Your roommates are nice. You didn’t tell me that everyone living here was gorgeous.”

Dimitri blushed, unsure of how to respond to that. But Sylvain just winked and switched right back to talking about the thesis. How many times was Dimitri going to feel nervous around Sylvain in one night? Felix’s comments must be getting to him, but he also couldn’t deny the fact that the redhead sitting across from him was incredibly gorgeous. 

At some point during the night, Sylvain ended up sitting right next to Dimitri, and their arms and thighs were touching as they read over an article on the laptop. It was only after Sylvain let out a big yawn that Dimitri realized how late it was, as well as how close they were sitting. He cleared his throat and scooted away a bit. 

“I did not notice the time pass, Sylvain. I’m so sorry for keeping you this late.”

Sylvain looked over at his watch, surprised. “Wow, I can’t believe it’s already this late. I don’t usually work this much in one sitting, but I guess it was just fun with you.” He said with a smile. A soft, warm smile, despite his incredibly tired eyes. It made Dimitri slightly sad that he had to leave.

Sylvain packed up his things, and Dimitri walked him to the door.

“Here,” he said, handing the redhead a small container. “These are the rest of the cookies. I noticed you really liked them, so you should have the rest.”

Sylvain reached out and took the container, his fingers brushing against Dimitri’s. He smiled.

“Thank you, Dimitri. For everything. I know I’m helping you out, but I had a lot of fun. I can’t wait to do this again.” He paused and bit his lip as he pondered a thought, then he continued. “Actually, if you don’t mind, we should hang out sometime. It doesn’t always have to be school-related. If you want.”

Sylvain seemed nervous, and it surprised Dimitri a little. “I enjoy your company as well, Sylvain. You’re always welcome to come again.”

Sylvain looked relieved, and he grinned. “Great. I’ll text you.”

He turned to leave, hesitated for a moment, then turned back to Dimitri. He took a quick step towards him, and brushed his lips across his cheek.

He stepped back and met Dimitri's shocked face with a sheepish smile. 

“If you want, you can call me.”


	2. I Think I Love You

“You BOAR, I can’t believe you did that!”

“Fe, you don’t have to yell at him.”

“Annette you’re in first place, you don’t get to talk.”

“My apologies Felix, but you literally pushed me off the couch to win the last minigame, so it is only fair that I push you off the ledge  _ in the game. _ ”

Still fuming, Felix grabbed the nearest pillow and flung it at Dimitri as hard as he could, just narrowly missing. Sylvain hollered a “YEET” as another pillow flew past, but it still missed its mark. 

“Felix, you can keep on trying, but you’re never going to hit him. You never have.” Annette sighed. 

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up, I KNOW I’ll get him at some point. He can’t dodge forever.” He insisted. 

“Listen guys, we can argue for ten minutes after each minigame,  _ or _ we can keep playing and you can brawl it out once we find out who the winner is.” Sylvain offered. “Otherwise we’re going to be at this for hours.”

“It won’t matter because Annette’s going to win, as usual, but there’s no way I’m letting  _ him _ beat me.” Felix snapped.

Sylvain just rolled his eyes, almost completely used to their bickering at this point. Felix was a sore loser, and Dimitri sucked at losing. They hardly ever got physical, but Felix was always determined to hit Dimitri with flying objects. Felix always missed, but that was until Sylvain started coming over. Unfortunately for him, he got caught up in it. Many times, actually. Dimitri apologized profusely each time.

But now, Sylvain could tell when Felix was ready to attack, and so he knew to move out of his line of sight. Even if his own head was in danger every time this happened, he still enjoyed watching Dimitri effortlessly dodge the attacks. 

Mercedes came by with a plate of cookies, and perched onto the arm of one of the sofas, next to Annette. 

“You know, if you boys really want to fight, you should just play Mario Kart. It’s a great outlet for your frustrations.”

Sylvain sat up, surprised. “You guys have Mario Kart? How come we’ve never played? It’s way more fun than Mario Party.”

Annette cut him off quickly, pointing a finger at him. “Okay, one: that is a terrible opinion, the Mario Party games are infinitely superior. Two: if we play that there will be a literal bloodbath. Trust me.”

“You know what, fuck it.” Felix said and stood up, facing Dimitri. “Let’s do it. Boar, race me.”

Sylvain waved his hand. “Um, we’re here too you know.” Felix just ignored him and stomped over to change the game.

-

The outcome was, as expected, absolutely terrible. Sylvain turned out to actually be a Mario Kart pro and effortlessly won almost every race. Annette was not used to losing, which resulted in a lot of screaming and like five rematches. As for the other two, they went from competing for first to trying not to be the one in last place, and somehow they ended up wrestling on the floor  _ while _ playing the game. 

Halfway through, Mercedes put on her headphones and happily read a book, drowning out the chaos around her. 

Once everyone had enough of competing and returned to their rooms, Dimitri invited Sylvain to his room as well. As Sylvain flopped down onto the bed, muffled rock music could be heard coming from Felix’s room.

“Is that.. Linkin Park?”

“Yes.. Felix tends to do that, and quite often.”

Dimitri padded over to a record player in the corner of his room.

“Do you mind? I don’t dislike Felix’s taste in music, but I prefer something more relaxing.” He asked Sylvain, as he held up one of his records. 

“Not at all! Actually, I can’t believe you like records. That’s really cool,” he smiled.

Dimitri seemed nervous though. “Are you sure? I’ve been told it makes me seem like an old man..” he trailed off with a sad look.

Sylvain waved both his hands hurriedly. “Really! I’ve been to record stores before, and I’ve been interested for a while. It’s just that listening to music on my phone is way more convenient for me.”

Dimitri relaxed a little at that. “Well, if you would like, you can listen to mine whenever you want. You can even bring your own, if you end up purchasing any,” he offered, as the music started to play. 

Sylvain looked surprised at the music choice. “Chopin?” He asked, looking up at Dimitri, who was standing next to him now. “Didn’t expect that, but I like it.”

Dimitri sat down next to Sylvain, and the bed dipped beneath them. “And I did not expect you to know it was Chopin. Do you enjoy classical music as well?”

Sylvain smiled sheepishly, and laid down on the bed, arms crossed behind his head. “I don’t usually tell people that, since it’s not really part of my image. But I’ll tell you.” He looked at Dimitri, their eyes meeting. “Yes, I like classical music. I play the piano, actually. Something my parents made me do, so I used to hate it, but I’ve come to really enjoy it.”

Dimitri was silent for a moment. “Would you ever play for me?” He asked softly.

“Of course. You can even come over to my place next time. I don’t have a grand piano or anything, but my trusty keyboard can do the job just as good.” He winked, half joking, half sincere. 

Dimitri just looked at him and smiled. He then laid on his side next to Sylvain, leaning on his elbow.

Sylvain blinked nervously. “Uhhh, hi. Welcome.”

Dimitri cocked his head to the side. “To my own bedroom?”

“I meant down here. On the bed. It’s a long way, from all the way up there. Where you were sitting.”

Dimitri laughed. “For a brilliantly smart man, sometimes you make no sense, Sylvain.”

“You think I’m smart?”

“Well, yes, of course. But you are so many other things as well. But most importantly, you’re a good person.” Dimitri replied seriously. “I think you are very intelligent, but that does not define your worth.”

Sylvain covered his face with his hands, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Okay, okay. You don’t have to be so serious.” He turned to face the blonde. “But thank you. That means a lot.”

They laid there for a while, enjoying each other’s company and listening to the music. Sylvain started to zone out, until he felt something touch his fingers. He looked over, and saw that it was Dimitri’s hand resting against his. He felt his whole face heat up right away.

“Sylvain,” Dimitri started. “I am really grateful to have you here. I know you were required to help me out before, but I am very happy that you enjoy my presence enough to keep coming. It brings me great joy.” 

Sylvain wasn’t looking at him, but he could feel the blonde’s eyes on him. He glanced up, and his suspicions were confirmed. Dimitri’s gaze was sincere and unwavering.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “It’s a new feeling for me. To just be myself, and have fun with people who don’t expect anything from me. And it’s all because I met you. I should be thanking  _ you,  _ Dimitri.”

“Well, how would you like to show your thanks?”

Sylvain blinked, unsure how to respond. He didn’t know if it was an actual question, or if Dimitri was implying something. But when he saw the other man’s smile, he understood.

Sylvain propped himself up onto his arm, and hesitantly leaned in. He stopped halfway, still not completely sure. So Dimitri also met him halfway.

Softly, they kissed. Their lips moved slowly, neither of them making a sound. They were still testing the waters, wanting to feel each other but with no need to rush. Sylvain pulled back so very gently to take a glance at his partner. He was met with half-lidded eyes gazing lovingly back at him, lips still parted as they awaited his return. Sylvain felt all his pent-up want spill out, and as he overflowed with love and desire he slipped his hand into the long blonde hair, and captured the soft lips with his own. This time their kiss was passionate, and although it wasn’t Sylvain’s first time, the feeling of being treated so lovingly was new. Dimitri’s strong hands held him close, as if he was the most precious thing in the world. 

A little bite on the lip from Sylvain was enough to flip a switch in the other man, and the kiss quickly turned heated. At some point, Dimitri rolled Sylvain onto his back, and his hands were softly tugging on the now-messy red curls. Desperate for air, they finally parted, and panted as they tried to catch their breaths.

“Wow,” was all Sylvain could muster.

“I could say the same to you.” Dimitri responded shakily, still trying to recover. His face was completely flushed, lips slightly swollen. Sylvain thought he looked absolutely gorgeous.

“Dimitri, I think I love you.”

“..Me too, Sylvain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I couldn't resist. I love them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I love these fools so much.  
> 


End file.
